


A Stolen Child

by LiinHaglund



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Kidnapping, Parenthood, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-10 02:39:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4374017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiinHaglund/pseuds/LiinHaglund
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who is the real monster? The one who hides a child during a fight or the one who takes it?</p><p>Frigga promises to return the child, but Odin does not sit idle to watch. He has too much at stake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LokiTheAssassin13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokiTheAssassin13/gifts).



> LokiTheAssassin13 had a prompt up called "A Father's Love". She wanted an evil Odin and a loving Laufey to bring his child back home. I'll try to write something worth reading, but I can guarantee it might be slightly different than originally envisioned. Still, the idea was rather compelling.
> 
> Also, this won't be terribly long.

Despite the opulence of the palace Frigga was used to getting things done herself. She did not want a dozen servants tending to her needs and she did not want her son to grow up hopelessly spoiled. Boys became men, and men should know how to take care of themselves.

It had been a worrisome season, the war with Jotunheim left her alone and acting as regent while Odin waged war in a faraway realm. But Odin was finally home, finally victorious.

“Whose child is that?” Frigga asked her husband when he came closer to her, carrying an infant.

Odin gave her the child while he lifted Thor up and held him. “He will be ours. We will raise him as our own. The boy is an orphan and Thor could use a sibling.”

Frigga was not happy. Their son and the heir to the throne, tiny little Thor, was just a toddler still and demanded much attention from her. She barely slept as it was and would not relish having yet another child to care for so soon.

“Did you win, Daddy?” Thor asked seriously.

“Yes, I won! And I took two treasures with me. I'll show you in the morning, it is late and you should be in bed.”

She still had no idea where Odin had gotten the child, who its parents had been – or worse _were_. She couldn't help but question why Odin taunted that he had taken two treasures from Jotunheim when he had come back with just the casket.

And this defenseless child.

Granted, it could be one of the fallen warrior's. It looked nothing like a Jotun. She knew all too well that magic could conceal such things, so it did not ease her worries. Had her husband stolen a child?

The only child worth stealing would be one of Laufey's. He led the Jotuns, after all.

It froze her heart to think of anyone taking Thor from her and claiming him as theirs, because then there would be no hope of his return. A prisoner might be handed back, but this way there would be no hope.

The child in her arms was no newborn either, then. She knew Laufey's wife had given birth months ago, and while the boy was small it wasn't unheard of for Jotuns to have runts. Small and weak they were often dead before they saw their first winter.

Perhaps the boy had been cast aside? She could not reconcile with the idea of her husband kidnapping another king's child.

“What's the matter?” Odin asked, seeing her expression.

“Nothing,” Frigga said with a smile. “It was just very sudden.”

She knew her place. Asgard was a warrior's realm. A man's world. She may be their beloved Queen, but she knew too well how little influence she really had. How little power. Odin's word was law.

“Would you like to name the boy?”

“Loki,” Frigga decided.

 

* * *

 

Laufey left his wife in charge of his two remaining sons. They were hardy Jotun children, growing fast into men. His wife was distraught over the loss of the youngest and would need company while he searched alone for the lost babe. He feared she would tear heads clean off rather than try to find information, such was her grief. Despite the small size, he was still their son and no child of Laufey's would be left behind.

His people were still licking their wounds, and by all rights he should be too. His wounds, his bruised pride and his shattered ego.

Jotunheim was in ruins and needed to be rebuilt. He was no builder himself, and he made sure his people knew he was going to find his lost son. In his place his wife would rule. No one questioned him. They needed a woman now, a woman was always better suited to fix broken things while men were better suited to wreck havoc and wage war.

This had not been their war. They had merely wanted a place where they could thrive. Jotunheim was a barren world, a frozen world which did not support much life. He had led his people to Midgard as a means of survival, not to conquer it or to crush it's people. They would have been allowed plenty of space for themselves, the humans. He had just wanted a the colder north so his people did not have to starve for much of the year.

He had reached peaceful treaties with many of the humans living there, and it had given him hope that perhaps they could even coexist. He wasn't the monster the other realms painted him to be, but he was no weakling either. He did not bow and he did not grovel.

Some of his warriors claimed Odin had taken the boy, and his allies in other realms confirmed it. He had suspected as much himself. No Jotun would harm a child hidden in a temple. Temples were exempt from fights, they were sanctuaries for the weak and the old.

Not, it would seem, to Odin.

At the beginning of his search he had wondered why Odin had taken the child. Then, as the open taunts came, he realized that his son was a mere pawn in a bigger political game.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Frigga was still suspicious of Loki's origins, but Thor was fond of his new brother. Despite often being bitten. Loki never bit hard, but even playful biting could be a problem for a small child. Both boys seemed to enjoy having a playmate, even though they sometimes fought.

She, on the other hand, was constantly tired and irritated. Loki would not nurse, and he would not eat solid food. She gave him what he needed by the aid of magic. He still had enough fat on him that she didn't worry, but soon she would need to take action.

The man standing in her children's chamber when she took them there to tuck them in, waiting for them, looked normal enough. She could still tell there was something off, he wasn't using his true form.

“Show yourself, and state your business here,” she demanded harshly.

“I am sorry to intrude, I mean no harm,” the man said, even as his body shifted shape. Soon she could see the Jotun King stand before her. “I merely wish to see my son returned to me.”

Thor had attached himself to her side, and little wonder when a three meter frost giant was in his room. Frigga, not as worried as her son, placed Loki on the floor and took a few steps back. “If he goes to you, I will hear you out, but I make you no promises.”

Thor looked questioningly up at her. “Is he a frost giant?”

“You have nothing to fear,” Frigga assured her son, her tone stern and meant as a warning for Laufey.

Loki enthusiastically crawled to Laufey. Patiently, Laufey waited on his knees with his arms out to the small child, until the boy was close enough to grasp. Then he carefully held the child to his chest. Loki's skin turned blueish gray and his eyes became red.

“Is Loki a frost giant?” Thor asked in wonder.

Frigga didn't reply, just smiled at him.

Laufey rose to his full height and walked closer with Loki in his arms. The boy was as happy as could be.

“It seems he knows you,” Frigga observed.

“He should,” Laufey said simply.

“Tell me how this happened.” Frigga indicated furniture they could sit on and Laufey sat down opposite her.

“We hid the young and old in temples once we became aware there would be a fight with Asgard. Some were slain, some were not discovered,” Laufey paused and stroked the toddler in his arms, “one was missing.”

“Odin means to raise the boy as his own.”

“And what is your intention, Queen of Asgard?”

“I have grown fond of him, as has Thor,” she smiled down at her son, “and I understand that life in Jotunheim is worse than it was before.”

“Life in Jotunheim is never easy, nor was it ever,” Laufey said. “We hoped for a new start elsewhere. Resources are scarce at best.”

“Why attack Midgard?”

“We did no such thing. I personally made sure they agreed to leave us space to live in the far North where few bothered. Even such a barren place by their standards is a veritable bounty compared to Jotunheim.”

“Go on.”

“Odin made his will clear to us. Going to Midgard in large numbers would not be permitted, even if we were starving. We were willing to wait, but we had a few people there already. When they were slain we attacked _his_ force, not the humans. I can assure you, we were in no favorable position to wage war.”

“So this is all my husband's fault,” Frigga said bitterly.

“We are no innocents,” Laufey said, “but we were not doing anything forbidden. No one has stopped other races from moving on from a dead planet before.”

“And the casket?”

“We always bring it to battle, the Jotun do not possess the crafted items Asgard does. There's no way to make fire to forge, no one who knows how even if we could. Most of the time we use the casket to create dwellings and structures. Few of us can actually wield it accurately.”

Loki was getting restless, he crawled out of Laufey's arms, down his body with the slight aid of his father and crawled to Thor, urging him to play with nonsense babbling. His skin became pinkish gold once more when he touched Odin's son.

“Farbauti said he had magic in his blood, but I had never expected this,” Laufey mused.

“He's rather small?”

“Not as uncommon as you would think. As I've said before, those incapable of fighting are often hidden away. Most only see the... frost giants, as you'd call us. There are plenty Jotuns born who are smaller in stature. My wife is quite small herself. I could not blame the boy for taking after the woman I've chosen to live with. After all, some of the small ones are fierce as beasts. I would not wish to fight Farbauti, she's a most capable warrior.”

Frigga watched the boys play. Thor soon had Loki in his arms and carried him over to Laufey with a curious look in his eyes.

“And what are you up to,” Laufey asked.

“Will he be half if we both touch him?”

Laufey seemed as curious as Thor, he touched Loki while the boy was still being held by Thor. He did not go half blue, he became all blue once again.

“Are you cold?” Thor asked and poked Laufey's arm carefully.

“Thor!” Frigga admonished.

“But -” Thor objected.

“Do not blame the boy for being curious.” Laufey held his arm out to Thor. “I can be very cold, cold enough to burn you, should I so wish. Here in this realm's heat I am merely a little colder than you.”

Thor touched the skin curiously. “Are these scars?”

“No, not those. We Jotun have ridges in our skin such as these, some even grow what look like horns on our heads.”

Frigga felt that if nothing else, Laufey's patience with Thor's curiosity proved that he was a good parent. Loki would be safe with him.

“What is his real name?” Frigga asked to sate her own curiosity.

“We do not name them. Children choose their own names when they become older. Sometimes we make suggestions, but most know what they wish to be called.”


	3. Chapter 3

Returning home empty handed was no easy task for Laufey. While he trusted the Queen of Asgard more than he ever would trust its King, he would have preferred to bring his son home with him. Idly waiting for her to bring the boy did nothing to soothe his unease, but she had given him hope on more things than his son. His people might not be doomed, after all.

“And you truly believe the witch will return him?” Farbauti asked once he told her. She sounded doubtful, and she had every right to.

“He was well cared for,” Laufey assured. “You know as well as I do that this is purely politics, it must be solved with politics. Rushing in and taking him back will only bring their army upon us again.”

Farbauti nodded, but her dislike was clear on her face. Despite being a small and slender Jotun, and a woman to boot, she was a fierce warrior when she was not busy being a devoted mother. He had chosen her for it. She had accepted because she liked him.

“You were right, the boy has strong magic in him. He changes his appearance to Aesir when they touch him and back to Jotun when I held him.”

“Of course I am right,” she said with an exasperated face. “I always am about these things.”

Laufey stroked her head affectionately.

“Our reduced numbers make it easier for the land to sustain us,” she said instead of starting an argument. “We will not be eating much this year either.”

“I expect as much, but if the witch can be trusted we will receive aid from Asgard.”

“I will never trust her or her husband, but I will trust your judgment. What did she promise?”

Laufey smiled gratefully. “Our son back, eventually, and help to shape Jotunheim into a more livable place. That is all, but more than I expected.”

“And the casket?”

“She will keep it to ensure we do not _invade_ any more worlds. However, if we need to rebuild we can possible be given its help temporarily.”

“Hm, not a bad deal,” Farbauti said, mood higher now.

“There will be a catch.”

“There is always a catch,” she agreed.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Frigga counted on the advisors and nobles to side with her. She had made a good impression while she was regent, she had a chance to succeed. She did not necessarily want Odin punished, but she did want to right the wrongs he had done.

“You stole a child from the Jotuns,” Frigga told her husband, but it was the nobles and commoners in the throne room which hung on to her every word. She hoped they would not be so blinded by hate from the war that they would easily justify taking a child.

“Would you rather I had left the babe to die?” Odin asked.

“I will not be lied to. You stole a child, told me to raise him as my own, all while his desperate parents yearn nothing more than for him to be returned. What is more troubling is that I have heard the Jotuns did not start this war.”

“Who told you this nonsense?”

Thor was sitting on the steps of his father's throne, with Loki in his arms. “Loki's father came,” he said brightly.

“And imagine my surprise when the boy turned blue when Laufey touched the child,” Frigga said with a cold in her voice she rarely showed.

“ _Laufey_ came here?” Odin asked, disgust and outrage warring for dominance on his face.

“You come home, telling tales of glory and victory against the bloodthirsty frost giants. Was any of it true?”

“You cannot trust that monster, Frigga.”

“I did not. I do, however trust Heimdall, and he does not lie to his Queen.” She walked up the steps until she was eye to eye with her husband. “This is not how a good king acts, Odin son of Bor.”

The murmur in the room reached greater volumes once she stopped speaking. It gave her enough confidence to continue.

“I will take over rule of Asgard until you have seen the error of your ways,” Frigga said calmly.

Odin rose. Guards grabbed her immediately and dragged her away. “You know this is treason,” Odin said calmly.  


	5. Chapter 5

Loki barely remembered their mother. Thor talked about her all the time when they were alone, but neither of them were allowed to see her.

He saw Thor less and less. It wasn't Thor's fault, their father just had so many tasks for him. Loki was lonely, and he had no other friends. The other kids called him names and bullied him because he was small.

The food didn't agree with him. He would get sick from all kinds of things and there was precious little he liked the taste of. No wonder he was small, he barely ate. The others didn't care, they thought him a weakling and only stayed away from him if Thor was nearby.

Most of the time Loki was in the library, reading. His father all but ignored him, and the new Queen was a horrible woman who hated him. If he was studying he was out of everyone's hair and didn't have to listen to their scorn. Nobody went to the library.

He wasn't allowed to practice magic, but he did anyway. It was the only advantage he had over the bullies. He focused and tried a teleportation spell he had failed with before, but he knew the second it was cast he had miscalculated. He had used too much power.

Last time he had ended up in Vanaheim, close enough and safe enough that he could rest and then teleport back. Going back had been easy, he had known how much power to use and could simply followed the trail of his own magic.

When he zipped out of the spell he found himself sprawled out on his back, laying on a frozen wasteland. He was exhausted and groaned softly, shaking with exhaustion as he stood up.

Was he on Midgard? They had frozen areas. Perhaps Vanaheim, if it was winter there. He started walking and soon found a river which he followed downstream. It was tiring and he wanted to sleep.

The sun started setting, and Loki was getting increasingly worried he would freeze to death. Except, he wasn't cold? Looking at his fingers he saw they weren't blue and didn't feel stiff. “Weird,” he mumbled.

It was almost completely dark when he saw buildings after having rounded a large hill.

And spears. He saw spears. Right in front of his face.

“Where do you think you're going?” a gruff voice snarled.

Loki looked around at the frost giants. “This isn't Midgard,” he whispered to himself.

The giants laughed cruelly. “No, it is not. Is that where you're from?”

Loki closed his eyes and decided he might as well be honest. Father might get his body back, if nothing else. “I am Loki of Asgard.”

A spear poked him gently.

“Move,” a giant growled.  


	6. Chapter 6

As much as Frigga loved her old home, the Royal Palace of Vanaheim, being confined to just one realm was grating. Not being told how her babies were faring was worse.

She was a Queen by birthright, and not even Odin was going to confine her like some hapless maiden. Vanaheim was hers. She had subjects and servants, soldiers and strategists, and more importantly they followed her, and only her. She had been docile long enough.

Looking out the window on the gentle summer rain and the lush gardens, she idly listened to the War Council squabble.

“It's madness.”

She turned to the councilman. “Is it? Is it not a greater madness to leave Odin to do as he pleases? What will he do next, slaughter an entire race? Will we just stand idly by? Asgard still favors me, I can take over the rule of that realm, but we need to act before the army recovers fully from the war on Jotunheim.”

Another member of the council stepped forward. “If we lost, it would be dire for Vanaheim.”

“No,” Frigga said solemnly, “if we lose it will be dire for all the realms. We do what's right, and what's right is seldom easy.”

“Aye,” the councilman nodded, “and we agree with your cause, but Vanaheim alone can not take on Asgard. If we go through with this we will need allies.”

“Most realms are sworn to Asgard,” Frigga mused. “Svartalfheim and Jotunheim are exceptions of course. I wouldn't want anything to do with the Dark Elves, but perhaps -”

“No -”

Frigga smiled viciously, “Laufey would aid us.”


	7. Chapter 7

Laufey had known something must have happened to Frigga, because she seemed like a woman who kept her word. And then there had been this cryptic message sent by an elderly messenger from Vanaheim. Something was cooking, and it seemed like it could be a bitter brew.

“There's a patrol coming in with a prisoner,” a young army recruit said as he rushed in.

Laufey nodded. There was too many visitors to Jotunheim lately, he decided. Perhaps he needed to kill some random vagabonds, spread the rumor that the frozen realm was inhospitable?

Two of his soldiers came in, herding the prisoner in front of them with their spears.

“We found him following the river,” one of them spoke. “He says he's from Asgard.”

“What is an Aesir child doing here, in Jotunheim?” Laufey muttered. The last thing he needed was to have to contact Odin, the treacherous snake. Then again, he could easily dump the kid in Vanaheim or Alfheim and have them ship the kid off to the Realm Eternal.

The child bowed to him, a small surprise, but Laufey liked well-behaved children infinitely better than bratty ones. “I am sorry, I miscalculated a spell. I thought perhaps I had ended up in northern Midgard. I have no intention of causing any trouble.”

“I can assure you, this is not Midgard. The temperature alone should be a clue. What's your name?”

“Loki, second son of Odin.”

“Well then. Welcome home,” Laufey said. He wasn't sure what else to say. As much as he had dreamed of getting his child back, he hadn't allowed himself to really comprehend how much time had passed.

“I'm sorry?” Loki said, a perplexed frown on his face.

Laufey rose from his throne. “Are you feeling the cold?” he asked as he advanced on the boy. He hadn't allowed himself to think that perhaps the boy would not recognize him. That perhaps the child would prefer Asgard to Jotunheim.

“No,” Loki admitted sheepishly. “But I'm really tired.”

“You're no son of Odin,” Laufey said. He put a hand on the boy's bare arm and watched in an almost unholy glee as the boy turned blue. “You're not Aesir. This is why the cold cannot touch you.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

He had heard the words, but he couldn't quite believe Laufey's story.

It made a bit more sense, however, in light of how Odin had treated him and Thor so differently. Thor was always celebrated, always favored. Loki was always kept in the shadows. They didn't celebrate his birthday, Odin saying only the crown prince mattered to the people. Thor had always remembered and had given him presents.

Laying down in a bed, Loki wondered idly if things would be different here. Laufey had made no secret of wanting to keep him. Would he like Loki?

Did he have a mother?

Did he have siblings?

Loki suddenly felt dizzy, even though he was flat on his back.

Would he get to go back and see Thor?

There was too much to think about, but he was already tired. He slipped into a restless slumber and woke up early. He was hungry and still in the blue skin, he soon discovered.

He tiptoed around in the castle of ice and rock, surprised when the guards did not bother him. He wasn't sure what he was looking for. The kitchen perhaps, but if he couldn't eat anything served in Asgard's kitchens, what were the odds that his stomach would agree with the food here?

He wandered until he found himself in the throne room again. The guards seemed to have had enough of his wandering, they herded him with their spears to a chamber. One of the bigger ones gently grabbed him and placed him on a large bed, then slapped the shoulders of the giants sleeping there.

Loki was shivering and sobbing. He wasn't sure why or how long he had been doing it.

By Asgard's standards the warmth he was pulled into was mere lukewarm, but compared to the chilly air it felt like a furnace. Loki hiccuped when he felt soft furs surround him.

“What's wrong?” Laufey asked.

“Nothing,” Loki quickly answered. No one cared, no one had time for him, why bother them? He felt impossibly small next to the giant and what he assumed was his wife.

“Such a skinny little thing,” a woman's voice mused. “He's probably hungry.”

And he was, but he was also terribly comfortable and didn't want to move.

 

 


End file.
